Great Aunt Sarah ThomasGreat Aunt Sarah Thomas (b 1855) - Mary said that Sarah lived well into her 80s or even 90s. Mary knew her. Sarah never married and is listed as a laundress on the 1901 Wales Census - someone who took in washing. For someone that Mary said, ' was not a well woman ' she certainly lasted a long time! As to a date? We could speculate that she was in her 8th decade when the photo was taken which would give us the 1930s. (again just a guess)

5 Salop Place, Penarth, Wales, UKThomas family home to orphaned Ryan children. Samuel and Jane Thomas were the Ryan children's maternal grandparents. The couple took in the children after the death of their father, John Patrick in 1890 from a tetanus wound sustained at work in Penarth Docks. The childrens' mother, Amelia had died just over a year before.

Beach Road Penarth in the 1900s - 1910sThe entrance to Alexandra Park from Beach Road, Penarth. Photo ca 1900s - 1910s - a park that must have been well known to all residents in Penarth. Alexandra Park, Penarth is a well-preserved Edwardian urban public park. It is in an attractive location overlooking the Bristol Channel, retaining its layout and many of its original features. The park was laid out quickly between 1901 and 1902.

Windsor Road, Penarth ca 1908Windsor Road, Penarth ca 1908 - the principal road running from Cogan (where our 'Founding Family' of Ryans lived) to Penarth. The main shops were and are located here. The road continues as Windsor Terrace and then into Beach Road which leads to the Esplanade.

Penarth DocksPenarth Docks at the height of its importance ca. 1900. John Patrick Ryan (1852-90) worked there as a shipwright and it was there that he probably sustained the injury that led to tetanus resulting from a deep cut or wound which led to his early death at the age of 38. The six Ryan children were orphaned.